Poland, with near-total abortion ban, to record pregnancies

The right-wing government in Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, now faces accusations it is creating a “pregnancy register.”

By Vanessa Gera, Associated Press
June 06, 2022

WARSAW, Poland -- The government of Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, faced accusations Monday of creating a “pregnancy register” as the country expands the amount of medical data being digitally saved on patients.

Women's rights advocates and opposition politicians fear women face unprecedented surveillance given the conservative views of a ruling party that has already tightened what was one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/poland-abortion-banned-register-pregnancies-85214771

Poland’s Abortion Ban Protests Changed the Country Forever

Restrictions are still in place, but the Catholic consensus that dominated Polish politics is over.

By Joy Neumeyer
NOVEMBER 8, 2021

In October 2020, after Poland’s constitutional court imposed a near-total ban on abortion, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. Demonstrators across the country were united by the lightning bolt symbol of the All-Polish Women’s Strike and a simple slogan: “Fuck off.”

One year later, their campaign may seem at first glance to have reached a dead end. The court’s decision remains in effect, and Women’s Strike leaders face criminal charges for actions committed during the protests. But the movement’s apparent defeat conceals its deep impact. The Catholic consensus that dominated Polish politics since the fall of communism is over, with far-reaching effects: Public acceptance of abortion is up, support for the ruling party has fallen, and progressive activists are building new coalitions.

Continued: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/11/08/poland-abortion-ban-women-strike-catholic-religion-progressive-politics/

Polish activists protest after woman’s death in wake of strict abortion law

Demonstrations and candlelit vigil after woman, 30, dies of septic shock in 22nd week of pregnancy

Tue 2 Nov 2021

A Polish hospital has said that doctors and midwives did everything they could to save the lives of a pregnant woman and her foetus in a case that has put the spotlight on the country’s new stricter abortion law.

The 30-year-old woman died of septic shock in her 22nd week of pregnancy. Doctors did not perform an abortion, even though her foetus was lacking amniotic fluid, according to a lawyer for the family.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/02/polish-activists-protest-after-first-death-in-wake-of-stricter-abortion-law

Polish protesters blame woman’s death on new abortion law

by The Associated Press
Mon., Nov. 1, 2021

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish protesters paid tribute Monday to a woman who died in the 22nd week of pregnancy, with reproductive rights activists saying she is the first person to die as a result of a restriction of Poland’s abortion law.

People lit candles on All Saint’s Day, a religious holiday when Poles visit cemeteries and mourn the dead. They placed the candles in front of Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, which issued a ruling last year that led to the tightening of what was already one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws.

Continued: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/europe/2021/11/01/polish-protesters-blame-womans-death-on-new-abortion-law.html

Poles protest one year after court ruling restricted abortion rights

By Euronews & AP
Updated: 23/10/2021

Poles took to the streets on Friday night to mark the one year anniversary of a constitutional court ruling that restricted abortion rights in Poland in October 2020.

Protests were held in Warsaw and other cities but numbers were far smaller than the demonstrations that followed last year's ruling, the biggest in three decades since the end of Communism.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/23/poles-protest-one-year-after-court-ruling-restricted-abortion-rights

23.10.2021

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Law and Justice party

Poland: A Year On, Abortion Ruling Harms Women

19/10/2021
International Federation for Human Rights

(Brussels, October 19, 2021) – Women, girls,
and all pregnant people have faced extreme barriers to accessing legal
abortions in the year since a Constitutional Tribunal ruling virtually banned
legal abortion in Poland, 14 human rights organizations said today. Since the
ruling, women human rights defenders have also faced an increasingly hostile
and dangerous environment.

Poland’s authorities should end efforts to undermine reproductive rights and
weaken protections from gender-based violence. They should commit to protecting
women human rights defenders who have faced ongoing threats and attacks since
the October 2020 decision. Escalating death threats since October 9 against
Marta Lempart, co-founder of Ognopolski Strajk Kobiet (All-Poland Women’s Strike)
and a target of repeated threats for leading demonstrations supporting legal
abortion and women’s rights, led to her police protection during public
appearances.

Continued: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/poland/poland-a-year-on-abortion-ruling-harms-women

19.10.2021

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News

Abortion Support Network

Abortion Without Borders

All-Poland Women's Strike

Amnesty International

Center for Reproductive Rights

CIVICUS

European Commission

European Court of Human Rights

FEDERA

Federation for Women and Family Planning

FOKUS

Human Rights Watch

International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion

International Federation for Human Rights

International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network

Istanbul Convention

Law and Justice party

Le Planning Familial

Marta Lempart

MSI Reproductive Choices

Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

Strajk Kobiet

Swedish Association for Sexual and Reproductive Rights

travelling for abortion

Nadia: “There is Hope for a Better Future for Women in Poland.”

June 25, 2021

Nadia believes activism can change the world. Over the last few years in Poland, women’s reproductive choices have been stripped back at an alarming rate. The young activist wants to reverse this erosion of women’s rights by campaigning for better reproductive, labour and social rights across the country. Nadia is painfully aware that in Poland, where public discourse is dominated by men, the belief that “children and young women have no voice” still reigns.

"I wish we no longer had to talk about the wage gap, reproductive rights, the overloading of women with unpaid reproductive work. I want to live in a world where women had freedom of expression and the full right to pleasure on our terms," the activist says.

Continued: https://defendthedefenders.eu/nadia-there-is-hope-for-a-better-future-for-women-in-poland/

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

This fight against women's oppression is not just a struggle for women, but for all of humanity.

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

by Alison Bodine, Common Dreams

March 8, 2021, International Women’s Day, is an important day to recognize the
challenges confronted and the great victories made by women around the world,
especially in the past year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the last 12 months, in addition to the health challenges posed by Covid-19
itself, women have faced increasing rates of domestic violence, higher rates of
job loss, as well as a larger burden of the care of children and families
because of the pandemic. In countries like the U.S. and Canada, government
mismanagement of Covid-19 has amplified the health and economic crisis. Black,
Indigenous, and immigrant women and their communities have been
disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
Continued: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/04/06/womens-rights-are-human-rights

Poland: Escalating Threats to Women Activists

Human Rights Watch
March 31, 2021

(Berlin) – Bomb and death threats targeting at least seven groups in Poland for supporting women’s rights and the right to abortion are disturbing reminders of escalating risks to women’s human rights defenders in the country, Human Rights Watch, CIVICUS, and International Planned Parenthood Federation-European Network (IPPF-EN) said today.

The authorities should urgently investigate, protect the women targeted and hold those responsible for the threats accountable. Polish officials should also counter abusive misinformation campaigns targeting activists.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/31/poland-escalating-threats-women-activists

31.03.2021